It's not John Henry's fault. He Splashed the Cash.

The headline says it all, doesn't it ? Check out the BPL table on the right which shows that Newcastle have 8 points more than Liverpool.

King Kenny says that Liverpool have won the Carling Cup and are performing better than some clubs who have been knocked out of 3-4 competitions. Now which teams could those be ? Man United ? Manchester City ? Arsenal ?

Liverpool are performing better because they won a cup that Man United regularly sends a mixed reserve/youth team to compete in. Say it ain't so, Kenny !

Neutral Milk Hotel

Nowadays, days in the car find me turning the radio on at BFM 89.90 fm. Other than some rather decent interviews with some rather interesting people in some rather interesting fields (arts, HR, politics, business, all of the above ...), BFM also has a rather eclectic play list.

So today, I introduce one song that was played on a Thursday night - I don't know which Thursday night - but it's a rather interesting one.

a weekend of Caissa

There was a time when chess was a big part of my life. I was, and still am, a decent player and I've had no course for regret for having taken up the sport/science/art. I've learned some life lessons through chess - lessons which are still with me today - and forged some wonderful friendships within the Malaysian chess community.

So when I had a chance to play in a chess tournament last weekend, it was one I gladly took. Of course, nowadays I have to seek permission first and the significant other was gracious enough to grant it. So, while meeting the old kakis was a familiar exercise, three things stood out.

I wasn't aware that the placings of the teams were decided primarily via match points. It's not something I've experienced before and shows that I'm rather out of touch with recent developments;

The tournament results are posted online pretty fast and are pretty detailed to boot. I was rather amazed when I saw the results for every player in every game shown on the website. This isn't difficult to do technically - I just needed to see it done. Again, I'm rather out of touch; and

There was a blast from the past as the MSSPP 80's team featured Eric Cheah and Ramesh - two people who have not played in a chess tournament for some two decades (at least to my admittedly limited knowledge).


One day, when I sit down to analyze the part that chess played in my life, I think I'll realize that it's already woven into the fabric of my being. All things considered, I could have chosen worse.

on the Hair ...

It's taken 6 months, but we couldn't hold it off any longer. Cedric had to get his 1st hair cut. I'd been delaying the hair cut because I liked taking photos of him with his hair sticking up and moving like grains of wheat being caressed by the wind. Still, it had grown so long that the hair could no longer stand.

So, on 18th March the scissors went snip, snip. When the scissors stopped snipping, not only was his hair shorter, it was sticking up again. So I'll enjoy it while I can because surely that hair can't keep on sticking up by itself, can it ?

Cedric, after his weight reduction exercise

Abbey is her name

Some says she got ugly nose, some said she got weaknesses. But never mind all those gossips, meet new girl in Sebastian Vettel's life, Abbey.

Things that make me Happy ....

Cruel, I know.
But man, it feels GOOOOOD.

Why We Need Better English

Lately I've been conducting interviews to fill vacancies in my department. Let's just say that results have been disappointing so far. There have been numerous surveys on the reasons why fresh graduates in Malaysia have so much difficulty finding jobs. The major reasons include not being properly trained/prepared to work, unrealistic expectations and incompetent English.

I have one more to add. It helps if they turn up for the interview once the date and time have been agreed. I'd set up 5 interviews - 2 informed me they couldn't make it with a reasonable explanation and 3 just didn't bother to turn up. Without informing me. Utter professionalism. Incredible courtesy. Just the sort of thing to make employers happy. CGPA of 3, my foot !

As an aside, this excerpt of CV is why we need to have a better standard of English in Malaysia. I wasn't sure whether the girl was serious about her personal strength, or what position she thought she was applying for, but it certainly made me wonder whether it was a typo.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Fascinating title, isn't it ? Browsing the shelves of a book store, this title caught my eye. I didn't buy the book then, but the title caught my eye whenever I was at a book store. That was Part One.

Part Two was when I read that a movie had been released. Did a little background check and thought that it might be worth spending some time on. Worth it. Definitely worth it.

So when I was at a book shop today and saw the 2nd book of this trilogy - The Girl Who Played With Fire - I was tempted to buy it. But I held off because I wanted to watch the movie too. And Daniel Craig & Rooney Mara had not made that movie yet. And David Fincher had not got his hands on it yet. So it's a case of dilemma, dilemma, dilemma .....

I could always watch the Swedish movie, but ....... for now, I would just recommend it for you. It's not meant for kids though, being rather graphic.

The legal fees and stamp duty for purchasing of property in Malaysia.

Below is the list of The legal fees and stamp duty for purchasing of property in Malaysia. Apparently these alone can caused a hole in your pocket let alone the high hyped property price.

Legal Fees for Sale and Purchase Agreement Legal fees for drawing up the Sale and Purchase to completion of transfer depends on the property value as set out in the Sales and Purchase Agreement or the market value as determined by Valuation Department.

Purchase from individual / public action / developer etc

Value of Property (RM) Legal Fees (%) 1st RM 150,000 1.0 of property value* Next RM 850,000 0.7 of property value* Next RM 2,000,000 0.6 of property value* Next RM 2,000,000 0.5 of property value* Next RM 2,500,000 0.4 of property value* RM 7,500,000

In excess of RM 7,500,000, the fee is negotiable on the excess but not exceeding 0.4% of the excess

* subject to a minimum of RM 300

Purchase from developer with a standard S&P Agreement

Value of Property (RM) Legal Fees (%) RM 45,000 and below RM 250 Above RM 45,000 up to RM 100,000 Scale Fee less 25% Above RM 100,000 up to RM 500,000 Scale Fee less 30% Above RM 500,000 Scale Fee less 35%

Legal fees for Loan Documentation

Purchase from individual / public action / developer etc

Principal Instruments (Loan Agreements):

Loan Sum Legal Fees 1st RM 100,000 1% of loan sum Next RM 4.9 million 0.5% of loan sum Thereafter 0.25% of property value

For subsidiary Instruments (Collateral Documents):

Within section 4(3) of the Stamp Act 1949 10% of full scale for each principal instrument

Purchase from developer with a standard S&P Agreement

Loan Sum Legal Fees Below RM 30,000 RM 120 RM 30,001 - RM 100,000 1% of loan sum less 25%

All legal fees are subject to 5% service tax

Stamp Duty for S&P Agreement

Value of Property Stamp Duty 1st RM100,000 subsequent 1% RM 100,001 - RM 500,000 subsequent 2% RM 500,001 - RM 2 million 3% Above RM 2 million 4%

Stamp Duty for Loan Agreement Stamp duty for the Loan Document is RM2.50 for each RM500 or part thereof of the loan amount.

Stamp Duty for transfer of house title

Property Value Stamp Duty 1st RM100,000 1% Next RM400,000 2% Next RM 1.5 million 3% Thereafter 4%

**All legal fees are subject to 6% service tax.

Besides the official fees listed here, the purchaser will need to pay for disbursement fees range from RM1000-1500. As for disbursements, the main portion is towards assessment of adjudication fees which are calculated as follows :-

Item 32 Stamp Duty Act 1949

" On sale of any property For every RM100 or fractional part of RM100 of the amount
of the money value of the consideration or the market value
of the property, whichever is greater -

(i) RM1 on the first RM100,000;
(ii) RM2 on any amount in excess of RM100,000 but not exceeding
RM500,000;
(iii) RM3 on any amount in excess of RM500,000 but not exceeding
RM2,000,000;
(iv) RM4 on any amount in excess of RM2,000,000."

The other items for disbursements are :-

bankruptcy search
private land search
entry and withdrawal of private caveat ( property with title )
telephone, fax, postage,printing
travelling
miscellaeous

This is a sample list which is expected in a usual sub-sale transaction.

If the title is out, the charges for presentation of registration of transfer the memorandum of transfer (MOT) will also be incurred.

As for property without title, instead of the MOT, the Deed of Assignment, Deed of Receipt & Reassignment and Power of Attorney will be applied instead.

Since the vendor is expected to obtain good title and property free from encumbrances from the developer, where the property is stil non-title yet, the fees on Deed of Asssignment will be borne by the vendor also.

Worst of all, the calculation and charges for Legal Fee & Stamp Duty are fixed as they are governed by law and are not negotiable.

Confuse? Is ok, just open your cheque book and pay.

Looking in All the Wrong Places ...

Sometimes it's about finding solutions in rather unlikely places - to analyze and then to separate the wheat from the chaff - to get to the crux of the matter and, (I don't believe I'm quoting Mick Jagger here .... ) - you can't always get what you want but if you try sometime, you'll find you get what you need.

The main thing is The Job Got Done !

Sometimes, when I look at children being encouraged to colour/paint/crayon the sun yellow - and only yellow - I feel like asking "Why does the sun have to be yellow ?"

It's a drawing. We can let our imagination fly free when it's a drawing. Sometimes you draw flowers in a vase and sometimes you can draw clocks that are so soft, they're like melted cheese. Dali did that and his paintings and prints are still around.

But I don't say a word to the child or the adult. 'Cos they're other people's kids.